How Soon is Now: ‘Born in East Berlin’ World Premiere (Sandbox Series) by SF Playhouse
A new Sandbox play from the Playhouse is an imperfect recollection of clashing cultures the year before the Berlin Wall fell.
Comfortably Numb: ‘Ways to Leave a Body’ world premiere at Cutting Ball
Cutting Ball starts off the new decade with two one-act dreams about women whose bodies aren’t theirs.
Virtual Insanity: ‘An Invitation Out’ West Coast Premiere by Quantum Dragon
An overlong, clichéd script is saved by great direction, a super cast, and eye-popping creative choices.
The Witch is Back: ‘Vinegar Tom’ West Coast Premiere at Shotgun
Ariel Craft is at the helm of Shotgun’s nearly-perfect remount of the Feminist take on ‘The Crucible’.
Better off Broken: ‘Bull in a China Shop’ Bay Area Premiere at Aurora Theatre
Aurora’s final 2019 is a winning dramatic-comedy set during the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
O Horny Night: ‘The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told’ at LCTC
LCTC stages a raucous, and somewhat bloated, retelling of biblical creation from the writer of ‘In & Out’.
Comedia y Muerto in The Mission: ‘Death and The Artist’ by BATCO
The Uruguayan play gets a loud – if uneven – adaptation by SF’s own BATCO.
Big-Top Burlesque: ‘The Soiled Dove’ by Vau de Vire
The creators of Teatro ZinZanni pitch a tent in Oakland for their sexy circus show.
Romance is Dread: ‘Elevada’ at Shotgun Players
A good cast can only do so much of this “satire” of rom-coms that supports their worst tropes.
Inside-Out: My 2019 in Bay Area Theatre
No “Best Of” yet, but here are some emotional ponderances on the decade-ending year that was.